Reasonable Accommodation

ADA and Employment

A very brief overview of a few important concepts.

Material provided by the

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability.

If a person has a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA protects them from job discrimination on the basis of their disability.

To Be Protected

To be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of, or be regarded as having a substantial impairment.

A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, learning or working.

To Be Protected

If you have a disability, you must also be qualified to perform the essential functions or duties of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation, in order to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA.

Who is Disabled?

An individual with a disability is a person who: Has a physical or mental impairment that

substantially limits one or more major life activities;

Has a record of such an impairment; or Is regarded as having such an impairment.

Who is Qualified?

A qualified employee or applicant with a disability is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question.

Who is Qualified?

Must meet both requirements You must satisfy the employer's

requirements for the job, such as education, employment experience, skills or licenses.

Second, you must be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Employer Requirements

An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to the known disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not impose an "undue hardship" on the operation of the employer's business.

Undue Hardship

Undue hardship is defined as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as an employer's size, financial resources, and the nature and structure of its operation.

The Employer

When evaluating undue hardship needs to consider Their own resources Tax advantages Third party funding Agency assistance

Reasonable Accommodation - Examples

Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to:

Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to persons with disabilities.

Job restructuring, modifying work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position;

Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, and providing qualified readers or interpreters.

The Employer

Cost impact is judged not vs. salary of the employee (cost/benefit) but is based on the resources of the employer.

IS NOT REQUIRED to lower quality or productions standards

DOES NOT have to remove an essential job function to accommodate an individual

The Employer

May choose between accommodations Does not have to supply personal use items

Eyeglasses Cane Devices used on and off the job

Visual Accommodations

Assistive Technology Materials in accessible format Modification of policies – allowing guide dog Modification of employment tests A reader A driver An accessible website Modified work schedule

Vision and the ADA

Must limit life activity to be covered May include those with monocular vision The use of devices, accommodations, or

compensatory strategies DO NOT automatically exclude a person from coverage under the ADA

We as Vision Professionals

Need to train clients in accessibility options Need to train clients in their rights Need to teach clients to advocate for their

needs Need to help students know what works Need to expect performance

We as Vision Professionals

Should not over-modify student’s work. By doing this we may - Lower standards Lower quality Decrease their ability to produce Lower expectations Make the client unemployable